The Panthers DO have a rival in Tampa Bay...no matter how much the Panthers have sucked, more seasons than not they've had the Bolts' ticket. In fact, I can only remember a couple where the Lightning dominated. And being cross-state, there's a natural tendency to hate the other team.

As much as I personally hate the absolute hell out of them, most Panthers fans don't have anything against them. At least from my perception, many Lightning fans I met don't like us too much though. However, I think once the two teams meet in the playoffs down the line, the hatred will really open up. Both fanbases would probably love for it to happen because neither team really has any true rivals due to the fact of only having a handful of good seasons under their belts.